


The Case of Happy Paws

by alikuu



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Animal Shelter AU, Barduil - Freeform, M/M, Mentions of Animal Cruelty, Mentions of children getting hurt, Modern AU, Sad themes, barduil gift exchange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-30
Updated: 2016-06-30
Packaged: 2018-07-19 07:51:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7352398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alikuu/pseuds/alikuu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bard assumed Happy Paws was the only Vet’s in town, but there was another, less popular clinic. The Master’s Animal Shelter and Vet’s, was the name of that hellhole, owned by a ruthless man who cared only about money. Unfortunately, when Bard’s clinic went out of business the vet had nowhere else to go. And then one day a strange man walked in with a small boy and the need of a pet. Modern AU. Barduil Gift Exchange.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Case of Happy Paws

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kholran](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kholran/gifts).



> This fic is a part of the Barduil Gift Exchange and is for [ Kholran](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Kholran/pseuds/Kholran). Kholran, I hope you like it :) 
> 
> Note, I'm sure some of you will guess it, but this fic was inspired by [Bereniceofdale](http://archiveofourown.org/users/bereniceofdale/pseuds/bereniceofdale)'s [Those Colours We Share](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4700237/chapters/10732403), one of the fics I love in this fandom.  
> To everyone, I apologise for my English - I do my best to edit these, but I’m not a native speaker and it shows.

When Bard Bowman, an accomplished New York veterinary doctor, moved to a small, quiet town, he hoped that his family could turn a new, happier page, one which would allow them to begin from scratch and forbid their past from ever haunting them again. 

He needed the fresh start, his kids needed it too. The move cost him his entire life-savings, or at least what was left of them after the accident and the medical bills and the funeral… Wait, he wasn’t supposed to be thinking of that. 

While moving to Lakeside Gardens had been a costly decision, Bard was certain that it was the right one for his family.

Lakeside Gardens was a beautiful town, with a great community where Bard was eager to belong. His children loved their new house. It was small but they had it all to themselves. Besides they had a yard - a luxury, which they could never have afforded back in New York. 

His new workplace was perfect. He quickly began to love the veterinary clinic, despite it’s somewhat ridiculous name (Happy Paws). It wasn’t difficult to make friends amongst the other vets and nurses - everyone was great, work was a lot less stressful than his New York shifts and to top it all, Bard got along even with his new boss. She was an elderly lady, named Helga, who was every bit as passionate about animals as he was and loved and cared about her job at Happy Paws, just as Bard did. She had founded the clinic, the first in Lakeside Gardens and held great pride for it. 

In the first few weeks of his job, Bard assumed that Happy Paws was the only Vet’s in town, but as time passed, he learned that there was another, less popular clinic, held by a man, who was rumored to be ruthless and cruel. The Master’s Animal Shelter and Vet’s, was the name of the place and Bard regularly heard anecdotes and horror stories about just how bad the establishment could be regarding its care for pets and it’s customer services.

However, beside his passing disturbance and disgust, Bard generally did not dwell on thoughts of Happy Paw’s (meager) competitor. Two months into his new life and he felt like he was truly beginning to establish himself in Lakeside Gardens. He had placed Tilda in the local elementary school and his elder children in a private high school. 

Walking along the streets after work, often pet owners would recognise him and greet him. It shocked him at first, having spent most of his life in New York, where people were generally cold and in a hurry, too suspicious of others to be so friendly. He found that he enjoyed the change. 

All in all, things were going great… Until things went to hell.

One day he was hurrying back to work after his lunch break only to find the doors closed for a police investigation. He saw Helga's pale face through the glass doors.

“What’s going on?” He asked, genuinely concerned. He tried to look over the woman’s shoulder.

“Go home, Bard.” Helga said through the door and her voice was hardly hiding it’s tremor. “We are closed for the day. I will give you a call tonight to fill you in on the details.”

That evening Bard found out that he had lost his job. An accident had happened inside the clinic’s premises - a large stray dog had somehow made it’s way into the building and attacked a small child before any of the staff could intervene. The accident was strange and unlikely - Lakeside Gardens did not have any stray dog populations. 

Bard was convinced that the whole thing was a set-up to get Helga's business to close down. But even though he could think of a likely culprit, he had no evidence that the Master was involved. And the damage had been done - a child was injured and hospitalised. And since it looked like it was the clinic’s fault, his boss decided to shut down Happy Paws and lay down all the staff.

Of course, Bard was furious. He tried going to the local court and police station to raise his concerns about how unfair and unjust the accusation towards Happy Paws had been and demand for further investigation. But he met obstacles on every turn and clerks, who did not want to assist in any way.

“The Master must have bribed them.” Percy, an ex-colleague from Happy Paws, told him one day. “Just give it up, Bard. There is nothing you can do.”

“I can’t, I need my job back!” Bard protested. “I hardly have any savings left - and I have three kids that go to school. There must be something we can do-”

“Then do as the others did!” His friend urged him. “Come work for the Master-”

“Are you working there as well?!” Bard exclaimed.

“I had no choice - it was that or moving town and I can’t move, I’m too old for that.” Percy sighed. 

At first Bard resisted. For a whole month he was unemployed, looking for other options. In the end he found himself knocking on the Master’s door.

“Well, if it isn’t Bard Bowman-” The Master mocked from his greasy old leather office chair as he sat behind an overcrowded desk inside his office in The Masters Shelter and Vets. “I’ve seen you on Animal Rescues. Say, are you friends with those TV guys, Animal Planet or Discovery or whoever they are…”

 

“I’m looking for work.” Bard interrupted him, barely holding on to civility in the face of such a man. “Do you have any vacancies for vets?”

“Vets?” The Master laughed. “No, we have more then enough vets now. You should have come earlier. Your former colleagues took all our slots.”

Bard nodded curtly and turned to leave, suppressing a sigh of hopelessness.

“But wait, where are you going?” The Master called after him, stopping him on his tracks. “We always have a place for a celebrity animal doctor, such as yourself.”

“I am no celebrity.” Bard gritted out. “I’ve been on duty several times when the crew of Animal Rescues came into the clinic and I agreed to let them film me work. That’s all. I don’t have any contacts in TV if that’s what you are thinking.”

“But your face is known - I’ve heard people gossiping about you being in Happy Paws for months now. People in this town know you. They want you. And that means I want you too.”

“I thought you said you don’t have any vacancies.” Bard raised a sceptical eyebrow.

“Not for vets. But we still need shelter staff.” The Master leered.

And so after nearly fifteen years of practice as a vet, Bard found himself working as a shelter keeper in a terrible, inhumane place, where animals were treated as little more than objects. Bard hated every minute of it.

He hated the faded yellow paint on the walls, the mold in the corners, the cold luminescent lighting, the scarce windows and the smell of moisture than hung in the air. He hated the animal enclosures, which were little more than wire cages and provided little to no comfort for the pets inside. 

Bard shared an office with the cleaner. The room left a lot to be desired, but somehow he managed to bring a little life to the place by opening the narrow hopper window and letting in a little natural light into the musky atmosphere. He put photos of his children on the wall and arranged sentimental mementos from old coworkers and friends over his desk. 

Some days when it was busy Bard could almost forget how much he hated the Master’s Shelter and Vets and lose himself in the work. Despite being reduced to a shelter keeper, he still got to take care of animals, and when the vets were overwhelmed with work, his old colleagues often called to him for help. And being a vet was Bard’s passion - it didn’t matter what his work title read, as long as he could do his job.

But on other days, working for the Master got unbearable. 

A lady brought in an old rabbit, one that had the relative size of a cat. The animal was female and was named Princess. Her previous owner, the woman’s son, was now in high school and no longer wanted Princess in their home. And since Percy was off and Sara was on her annual leave, while most of the other vets were making house calls, it was up to Bard to have the dreaded conversation with the pet owner, who wished to drop off the rabbit for adoption.

“I am afraid she is too old to have good adoption chances,” Bard said very carefully. It wasn’t the complete truth. A rabbit, even as old as Princess was perfectly adoptable, if only she were given a chance. The problem was that the Master did not like to keep “unadoptable” animals in his shelter. A ‘wasted investment’ he called them, since it could take months or years for the older, less desirable or injured pets to find new owners. And quick money was the only kind of money on the Master’s mind, so there was a rule that the boss inforced, which was the main reason Bard hated his job so much - unadoptable animals were to be euthanized. 

“Where am I supposed to leave it then?!” The woman was not in the least bit impressed or sympathetic. “You don’t suppose I should let it into the wild, do you?”

“No, no,” Bard shook his head, raising his hands in a placating gesture. “Please don’t do that. Domestic animals cannot survive in the wild. You’ve done the right thing to bring her here… It’s just that, I won’t lie to you, madam, if you leave Princess with us, due to her advanced age, she might end up euthanized.”

Bard swallowed hard as he let the knowledge sink in.

“Oh well. I cannot keep her.” The woman said so dispassionately that Bard doubted if she had understood his meaning.

“What I meant is, she might be put down to sleep…” The former vet tried again.

“I did not come here to be morally lectured.” The woman’s tone turned sharp. “Is it your job to accept unwanted pets or not?”

Bard gaped at her. Sometimes humans and their callousness left him speechless. He desperately wished for his late wife in that moment. Somehow she had always seen the best in people. Even when human cruelty proved too much for Bard to handle and made him want to punch something (or someone), she had always known what to say, in order to make him see something worthwhile in the worst of people. 

“Let me see your name!” The woman demanded and took out pen and paper. Bard held out his id badge, so that she could better see his name as she angrily scribbled it down. “I’m going to file a complaint against you!”

Bard glared at her, but managed to hold back the very impolite response, which was threatening to escape his mouth.

When the woman slammed the door behind her, Bard sighed deeply turning his eyes to the tame old rabbit who had startled by the loud noise. Princess looked scared and stood frozen with her gentle brown eyes as wide and round as marbles.

“It’s ok, girl, it’s alright.” Bard picked her up and held her against his chest until her fast breaths calmed. 

…

Bard hated the cage where he had to keep the rabbit. Its worn metal surfaces were no place for a living being. 

In the few weeks that he had worked in the shelter, Bard had managed to avoid the worst of the Master’s rules. His friend Percy and sometimes Sara were kind enough to do what he couldn’t bring himself to do. Still, the knowledge of perfectly good pets being put down for no reason other than the difficulty of their adoption made Bard’s stomach twist, even if it wasn’t him administering the lethal injection.

At first Bard had tried to prevent it by paying from his own salary to have animals transferred to other shelters. In the first week alone he saved a lame old dog, named Max and three abused cats with mental disorders. Bard would have taken them in, if his pay could cover it, but as it was, he was only a shelter keeper and with three kids to take care of, he couldn’t even dream of affording a pet.

His late wife had always wanted a large dog, possibly a golden retriever. Bard wished desperately that he had fulfilled that wish.  
Lately he was left with nothing but regrets. All his previous hopes and dreams were destroyed when the car accident happened. But he wasn’t supposed to think about her. He had to be strong, he couldn’t allow her death to break him, for the sake of Sigrid, Bain and Tilda.

But there were days when it was hard to stay strong. Days such as that one, when another unadoptable animal in the shelter needed rescue and he just couldn’t help. 

...

As if his day wasn’t terrible enough, in the afternoon the sky was pouring down all its sorrow and the normally gloomy shelter was even darker and greyer than usual. Noon rolled by slowly. It was a weekday and with such weather only the most urgent cases would come to the clinic. Currently there was no one and with the day slowly rolling past, Justin asked to go home early, leaving Bard to cover all by himself.

The shelter keeper sat in his shared office, watching the clock click closer to 6 pm. There was no one else to put Princess to sleep and it had to be Bard this time. He dreaded the end of his shift and wondered if he could actually do it. 

Bard had long finished all his tasks for the day, so with little else to do, he looked at the clock again and sighed. Twenty five minutes to six. He knew he couldn’t afford to transfer another animal, but that didn’t mean he didn’t desperately want to do it. He had to be firm, he reminded himself. His kids came first. He just couldn’t save them all. Sometimes there was only so much one could do. All of these things he told himself, yet even in his head, the arguments sounded empty.

In the end, restlessly the doctor got up from his shabby desk and went to the Shelter. The animals there looked unhappy and underfed, due to the Master’s stinginess. Bard crouched in front of Princess’ cage and looked at her. The look in the old rabbit’s eyes was that of panicked incomprehension. She did not understand why she had been taken away from her home and brought to this unwelcoming place. She stood very still with her ears low in an effort to make herself appear as small as possible.

Bard felt his stomach churn.

There was no one around, so he opened the cage and gently picked up the rabbit. She was afraid for a moment before he cradled her close and scratched her skull gently. Her eyes closed and she calmed down. The old bunny was evidently hungry for affection. Bard wondered how long it had been since anyone had held her. By the look of the lady who had dropped her off, since her teenage son had lost interest.

“Hey there.” Bard coed to her. “It’s alright.”

The former vet held her for a while and when he next checked the time it was five past six. 

“I can’t do this.” Bard whispered to himself. Briefly he entertained the idea of finally quitting the job, but what difference would that make? The next vet to come would finish the job.

The bell of the clinic’s entrance rang, startling Bard out of his dark thoughts. 

He waited, listening intently but there was no sound of Alfrid, the receptionist, greeting the newcomers. Probably for the best, he thought, since the oily-haired man was arguably the most unlikable person Bard had ever met.

Glad for the distraction, Bard didn’t even bother to put Princess down, instead he walked to the front desk to see who had come five minutes after their supposed closing time.

The man who stood in the cramped old reception area was a rare sight. He was tall and elegant, wearing a long grey trench coat, which had hardly tasted the pouring rain. He had no hat over his long silvery blonde hair, also quite dry, which fell down his broad back in an elegant ponytail. By the looks of it, this was a rich man who had just hopped off his car and briefly walked across the road under the downpour. 

The stranger’s eyes were covered by his large dark sunglasses. All Bard could see from his expression was the tight set of his pale lips, and it too gave away nothing. 

Make no mistake - the man was beautiful and strangely alluring, but there was something aloof and cold in his bearing.

‘Stunning, but inhospitable, like a frozen forest.’ Bard assessed internally before shaking his head to chase away the silly though. He wasn’t in the habit of judging clients by their looks. He wasn’t about to start.

Once Bard was done gaping at the posh man he noticed with a start that there was also a child with him. A tiny boy with the same blonde hair stood beside the tall man. But while the father was imposing, the child was like a shadow - shy, hunching in on himself, as if trying to disappear. 

“Good afternoon!” Bard greeted them, despite the late hour. “How can I help? Are you here to see a vet or are you looking to adopt?”

Bard caught himself involuntarily emphasizing on the last word. True, seeing no animal with the pair his hopes had suddenly flared, but he tried to reign his excitement. The last thing he wanted was to force a family to take a pet - that never ended well. 

“Or are you here to drop off an unwanted animal?” He asked when the silence lasted a little longer than a few seconds, this time dread colouring his voice. 

The barely perceptible rise of a prominent eyebrow, which the stranger gave him, made it obvious that his slips were not going unnoticed. He wondered what this man saw as he so carefully scrutinised him. Most likely nothing flattering.

“We will be just looking, if that’s alright.” The client said and it was a statement, rather than a request for permission. The man’s voice was every bit as authoritative as his appearance, but that alone was not enough to intimidate Bard. In fact, the words were exactly what the former vet had hoped to hear. 

“Right, this way-” Bard hurried to bodily push open the door to the shelter, Princess still in his hands. His spirits were soaring at the suggestion that these people were at least interested in adopting. 

He did not miss the way the newcomer put a gentle hand on the shy boy’s shoulder and nudged him to walk even when the boy seemed too lost in his inner world to notice his surroundings. Nor did he fail to notice the pleasant whiff of the man’s cologne as he passed him by and walked down the corridor to the shelter.

Bard walked after them and was somewhat surprised that the posh man remembered to hold the next door for him.

“Thanks.” He said distractedly, his mind already on getting one of the poor shelter animals a new home. “Here we have the dogs,” Bard went to stand by the larger cages before energetically striding to the other side of the room. “The cats are here and all the other animals in the other corner.”

“Thank you.” The stranger said before he led his son to the dog cages. 

Bard cradled Princess closer and idly stroked her fur as he waited for the family to look around. Truly the state of the shelter never failed to embarrass him. The enclosures and the cramped space were simply unsightly, not to mention uncomfortable for the pets. The dogs barked at the cats and each other, all the animals were stressed and the hall had no windows, only the cold luminescent light coming from above. 

Princess sighed in his arms and Bard found himself wishing that this visit would stretch for as long as possible, dreading the moment once the man and his child were gone.

“Let’s see the cats, what do you think, Legolas?” The blonde’s voice was soft when he spoke to his son, even as the strange boy barely reacted or lifted his eyes from the floor. The father bent almost double as he walked the unresponsive child to the other side of the room as one would lead a blind person. 

Bard didn’t want to intrude and he knew it was rude to stare, but something about this picture made his heart clench and he looked on.

“Do you like the cats?” The man prompted, his entire attention taken with his son and not sensing, or not caring about, Bard’s silent observation from across the room. “Look at this one, Legolas, it’s looking at you. Maybe it wants to be your friend-”

“I don’t want to!” The kid’s shout was so sudden and unexpected that it startled Bard and in turn Princess clawed her way out of his hands. 

He managed to bend down just in time for her to jump to the floor from a safe height. She immediately hopped off to hide behind a worn visitor’s couch in the corner of the room. 

“I’m really sorry about that.” The stranger apologised and it sounded sincere. He had turned his head to look at Bard, even as he had knelt by the once again closed-off boy. “Legolas, you must not shout this way - you are scaring the animals…”

The kid threw a useless kick at his father and fisted his tiny hands into his own shoulder-length blonde hair and began pulling.

“I don't care! I don't care about the stupid animals!” Legolas shouted with increasing hysteria and Bard realised that the man could no longer control him. The father’s expression looked grief-stricken even with his dark sunglasses completely hiding his eyes. His helplessness and pain were written all over his body language, from the defeated fall of his broad shoulders to the way his brows pinched together tightly, creating crease lines over his otherwise smooth forehead. 

“I just want her back!” The child added in a small voice before silent tears began streaming from his face.

Bard bit his lip, briefly tearing his eyes away from the situation to see where Princess had disappeared. To his surprise, the rabbit was no longer hiding. She had come out, even as she kept close to the couch. But her tiny nose was moving and she was sniffing the air, assessing the situation curiously.

“It’s okay!” Bard found himself saying, taking a few steady steps towards the family. The little boy’s struggle and his father’s helpless grief suddenly felt very familiar. He had been through similar conversations with his kids, since… Since. “Look, Princess was not at all bothered by you. She was just making her grand escape.”

He knelt beside the blonde man and turned to the little boy, who was now looking at him with suspicion.

“Perhaps you’d have better luck catching her than me?” He offered and to his relief, the boy’s eyes glanced to the bunny.

“Could you try to pick her up for me, please?” Bard asked kindly. 

“I…I don’t...” Legolas muttered. “I don’t know if I can.”

“Really?” Bard raised an eyebrow. “I think you would be better than me at least.”

Legolas looked at him incredulously. 

“Excuse me, Mr… Bowman.” The father begun. He was standing on one knee not even an arm’s length away from Bard and was no doubt reading his name tag. His voice was anything but apologetic. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to-”

“Let him try!” Bard insisted.

The boy had already extricated himself from the man’s arms and was tentatively stalking towards the bunny, which in turn, watched him warily from across the room.

“You don’t understand, if he doesn’t manage -” The stranger begun, starting to get up after his son, but Bard stopped him by putting a firm hand on his shoulder.

Distantly he heard the blonde gasp, but his attention was on the boy, who was kneeling in front of Princess. To everyone’s relief, the animal hopped towards the boy and began sniffing the air. Legolas reached forward shily and Princess stretched her neck to meet him halfway, curiously nudging his tiny hands with her pink nose. 

Legolas choked a bit and visibly stealed himself before lunging to envelop the bunny into his embrace.

“I got her!” The boy cried with a mixture of triumph and disbelief.

“Good job, kid!” Bard smiled, getting up and walking over to Legolas to gently ruffle Princess’ fur as the child held her.

“You can pet her, if you like.” Bard offered and reluctantly the boy copied his touch.

Bard heard the soft footsteps of the father approaching them slowly. Without even looking Bard could sense the tension in the other man. Bard had no doubt that they were treading on a minefield with the boy being obviously unstable, but his personal experience with grieving children showed that sometimes a little courage and trust did what dotting and care could not achieve.

“The child psychologist said that animals could help him recover from emotional trauma.” The man’s forwardness surprised Bard, even if the information was nothing that he had not begun to guess. “But she warned me against going in too hot. I think this is enough for today.”

Legolas climbed on the couch, cradling Princess close as he gently ran his fingers through her soft hide. The old rabbit seemed at peace, possibly recalling her old owner, who had also been a small boy once. It made Bard a little sad, but at the same time hopeful. He was beginning to see a great outcome for both the family and the bunny. Now it was only a question of convincing the worrying father.

“Psychologist aren't always 100% right.” Bard turned to the taller man. The blonde was observing his son’s exchange with reservation. The former vet allowed himself a tiny smile at the glare of those dark sunglasses.

“Let him set his own pace.” Bard added and the other man was just opening his pretty mouth to protest when Legolas choked out a tiny laugh. It sounded suspiciously like a sob, but there was definitely a smile there. At the very least the kid was no longer hiding his face, Bard thought.

“Mr. Bowman,” The child addressed Bard.

“Yes, Legolas?” Bard turned back to the boy, wondering if he was presuming too much in the overprotective father’s eyes by borrowing the name he had overheard. 

“Are you that doctor from Animal Rescues?” Legolas asked and Bard nearly rolled his eyes. That TV show again… But hey, for once it could do a little good to be recognised from TV, so Bard smiled and nodded.

“Indeed, I am.” He confirmed. “Although I am surprised you recognised me. I don’t think I’m in more than two or three episodes.”

“I have seen the old episodes many times.” Legolas admitted. 

Bard huffed out a short laugh at the way the kid referred to last year’s episodes as old. 

“So you are interested in saving animals then?” He asked. “Do you want to become a vet?”

“I don’t know.” Legolas said honestly. “But I like watching Animal Planet.”

 

Bard nodded and still smiling he looked over his shoulder to check the father’s expression. 

By the way he was being glared at, the former vet could tell that the man was totally on to him and what he was trying to do. Thankfully, all that he said was: 

“Do you have any younger rabbits?” 

There was definitely a resigned note in that imperious voice and Bard scored that as a victory. But it was only the first battle - he still had a war to win.

“No other rabbits, I’m afraid.” Bard said truthfully. He had been expecting the question and therefore had already prepared his speech. “But I have very good news - this one might be mature, but is very tame and well-behaved. House trained and in perfect health. And since she is up for adoption, she is completely free of charge-”

“I don’t want to get an old animal.” The man said sharply even if his volume was low.

“She is only about 8 years old and rabbits can live up to…”

“No.” The man cut him off again and Bard felt as if he had hit a stone wall. “My son can’t suffer another loss.”

Bard bit the inside of his cheek. He could tell that he wouldn’t be able to convince the man - only his son could get through to him.

Privately he was tired of calling the stranger “the man” in his mind. He wanted to put a name to this person, as absurd as that sounded. Bard had no idea why he wanted to ask for his name so badly, but he refrained - it could be taken the wrong way and Bard wouldn’t dare ruin Princess’ last chance. So he said instead:

“Look, …mister, I know what's your problem. I know it as a father and as someone whose family has known loss as well. You cannot prevent loss and pain from happening, some things are just fated. ” Bard trailed off, suddenly aware of his unexpected spiel. He had no idea where the words were coming from, but now that he had said them, he found that he believed them and wouldn't take them back, no matter how harsh they sounded. That guy needed to hear them.

“And don't believe everything your psychologist says.” Bard added. “I think that your son and Princess click. You are free to decide otherwise, but my advice is not to look any further.”

The man stood frozen with his mouth slightly opened and both eyebrows raised way over the rims of his sunglasses. For a long moment Bard held his breath and wondered if he was going to take his child and simply leave, or respond something venomous and biting, or even if he was about to strike him.

“I read a bad review of your clinic on my way here. It was recent and it mentioned a rather mouthy staff member.” The blonde said neutrally after the long pause.

“Aye.” Bard squared his shoulders. “That was me. My honesty isn’t always appreciated.”

“It’s appreciated now.” The man said and for a moment Bard thought he had misheard. 

The stranger didn’t wait for his reaction, instead he walked over to his son, who was lying on his front on the dusty couch, gently stroking Princess’ back. 

“It’s up to you, Legolas.” He said, surprising Bard. “Will we keep Princess?”

“Can we?” The boy looked up at his impossibly tall father.

“Of course we can.” The man smiled and his cold features turned sweet. Bard could only stare in bewilderment. 

“Yes, please.” The boy said and his father nodded.

“We will take Princess.” The man turned to the former vet. “How much do we owe?”

“Nothing.” Bard said, his tentative smile spreading to a full-blown grin. “You would be saving her. Truly, you came just in time.”

“Don’t we at least have to fill out any documents?” The man asked skeptically.

“No. She was never formally admitted.” Bard’s expression turned sour. “The boss’ way of dealing with unwanted animals is hardly legal, therefore he keeps such cases off the record. She’s all yours.”

“What do you mean?” The other man’s tone was sharp once again.

“Animals that are too old, crippled or unstable just get euthanised on the day here.” Bard shook his head unhappily. “It saves the Master money - not having to feed them and all…” Bard trailed off, feeling sick just talking about it.

“That’s…” The blonde looked disgusted. “You work here. Why are you telling me this?” 

“I don’t know.” Bard confessed. “Probably because I hate it. I’ve been trying to get things to change around here. But it seems like I’m banging my head against a wall. The Master won’t listen to me - only a massive fine could stop him, I recon.”

“You might lose your job for speaking this way.” The man said.

“If I could get this place to change it would be worth it.” Bard shrugged. “The only reason why I haven’t quit yet is because I don’t think it’s going to do any good.”

“And have you tried to talk to the police about this?” The stranger asked.

“They are all bought!” Bard raised his voice in exasperation, before quickly glancing at Legolas to see if he had disturbed him. Thankfully the kid was so preoccupied with the bunny that he wasn’t listening to the adult’s conversation. 

Bard lowered his voice before continuing:

“I went to them when Happy Paws closed. This whole story with the stray dog is impossible. But the investigators seemed eager to cover up what happened. I am certain that the Master arranged the whole thing! This whole incident was impossible…”

“Seems like you haven’t spoken to the right people.” The man interrupted his rant calmly.

The tall blonde lifted his sunglasses to the top of his head, revealing one piercing blue eye and one milky white one, much to Bard’s surprise and bemusement. He hadn't noticed the fine scars lining the blonde’s left side earlier, but now that he could see the blinded eye, he could clearly make out the damage to the man’s extremely handsome face. 

“Did you work there before?” He was asked and Bard nodded.

“Aye, I did.” 

Meanwhile the man fished out a business card from his wallet and handed it to the vet.

Thranduil Oropherion - the card said. Chief of Police. 

Bard gawked at the piece of paper, suddenly at a loss of words. He glanced from the card to the man and back, trying hard to reconcile the knowledge that this was the town's Chief of Police, and not a fashion designer or a model, which were the kind of jobs he would have penned on Mr Oropherion.

‘Than-du-il-’ Bard tried it out in his mind, suddenly fascinated by the name and intrigued by the individual even further. This Thranduil Oropherion, Chief of Laketown Gardens Police was proving to be a lot more than meets the eye. 

“I’d like to hear more about your suspicions regarding the case, Mr Bowman. I will send two of my trusted officers to speak with you regarding the ongoing investigation.” Thranduil said.

Bard schooled his expression back to a charming smile and extended his hand to Thranduil who took it and shook it firmly.

“Call me Bard.” He said. “And I will be glad to help, Mr Oropherion.”

“It’s Thranduil.” The blonde smiled and it was the most brilliant thing Bard had seen all day. Nay, all month. Possibly in a year. 

“Let me get you some rabbit food!” Bard offered, shaking himself from the giddy feeling that had suddenly coiled up in his chest.

Thranduil tried to refuse, but Legolas took the bags from the former vet who was already giving instructions about Princess’ needs. 

“You are life-savers,” Bard turned to Thranduil with sincerity as the family prepared to leave. “Thank you for taking Princess. She will make you happy, you will see.”

“You really don’t have to give us the rabbit food for free - we can pay for these things. A few extra bucks won't make us change our minds about Princess.” Thranduil argued again, but he seemed to realise that Bard wasn’t about to back down. 

“I know.” Bard said simply.

“Then why do you do this?” Thranduil asked.

“Because I want to.” Bard smiled and he wondered if he imagined the way the Chief of Police’s pale cheeks dusted pink. 

…

And that is how through a small measure of charm and a good measure of stubborn insistence, Bard made himself an integral part of the investigation surrounding the dog mauling incident at Happy Paws. 

True to Thranduil’s word, the investigation was not closed. It turned out that it had supposedly ran out of leads, until the Chief of Police reassigned the case to two enthusiastic young officers, a fiery redheaded investigator named Tauriel and her level-headed senior Feren. 

Of course, as soon as the Master found out about Bard’s involvement in the renewed police investigation and that he was now the chief suspect, he immediately sacked the former vet.

To Bard’s sincerest surprise, it was Thranduil who came to his aid then, offering to give him a temporary job as police consultant for the case. The position was not what Bard had studied for, but it was definitely exciting and gave him a good amount of chances to see Thranduil and get to know him a little better.

Thankfully the case was quickly resolved, even though the security footage from Happy Paw’s CCTV had conveniently disappeared. The pictures the police still held of the stray dog, matched the security footage from the Master’s Shelter and Vet’s, where the same animal had been kept before the incident. 

Percy managed to sneak out from the Master’s a CCTV recording showing Alfrid beating the poor dog before taking it out on a leash the same day that the attack had happened. 

From there it wasn’t hard to piece together what had happened - Alfrid had walked into Happy Paws and set the maddened dog on the loose in the corridors. 

With the case finally resolved, the Master’s Shelter closed and Alfried and the Master behind bars, Bard was glad to hear that the attacked child had made a full recovery from the mauling. The Chief of Police told him that the girl had miraculously managed to avoid psychological trauma and still loved dogs despite what had happened. Bard and the other former vets from Happy Paws visited her and brought a special gift - a puppy, which was very well received by both child and parents.

Soon after that, Happy Paws reopened and Bard gladly accepted back his position there.

“So eager to leave.” Thranduil observed teasingly as Bard packed his things, The office at the police station had only briefly been his,but had felt more at home than the vet cared to admit.

“Quite the contrary.” Bard shook his head. “I was starting to like it here, but I am a vet, not a police officer. I should get back to the animals and leave the bad guys to the professionals.”

“So we have to deal with the beasts and you get the animals?” Thranduil teased, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning a hip on Bard’s desk. 

“You try making a cat swallow a pill and then talk to me about beasts.” Bard smirked but when the answering smile did not quite reach Thranduil’s eyes, the humour drained out of him as well.

“You did pretty well for a non-professional.” The Chief of Police said levelly. 

If the doctor didn’t know any better, he’d had thought that Thranduil, in his crisp dark grey suit and with his perfect long hair falling neatly down his back, was nervous. But that was impossible. The boss of the police seemed made of marble, if not something tougher.

“Are you saying this just to keep me around?” Bard decided to test his luck. He held his breath. It was a bold statement and he had no idea how Thranduil would react or even, how he’d take the words. 

“And what if I am?” Thranduil responded with a question of his own and for the first time ever, his voice sounded affected, dry, almost husky, as if his throat was constricting around the words with trepidation. 

“In that case…” Bard set aside the box where he was putting his few belongings, trying to hide the ridiculous way in which his hands trembled with a rush of adrenaline that was suddenly flooding his veins. He took care to walk steadily as he went around the desk to stand directly in front of the taller man. He didn’t know what was happening, but his heart was swelling, and he felt like such an idiot. He had no idea what he was meant to say. “In that case, you shouldn’t worry. You have hardly seen the last of me. You have a rabbit and I am a vet...”

“I hope I won’t get to see you only when Princess needs her nails cut...” Thranduil trailed off and Bard chuckled.

“I can think of a few more excuses.” Bard smirked. “Her ears might need checking, weekly checks are also a thing...”

Thranduil started laughing as well and the vet tried to keep his expression straight as he continued:

“I’ll be on house call. Did you know we do house calls?”

They were standing very close and Bard’s heart was racing, but Thranduil didn’t seem to mind, didn’t seem to want to be anywhere else, but right there, trapped in the scant space between him and the desk.

“Do I need to call Happy Paws for that, or do I get your number?” Thranduil asked and his voice was pitched lower, much lower than Bard had ever heard it before.

He found that he really liked it.

“Call me.” Bard said a little breathlessly and took a risk - leaned in, smoothly sliding his business card straight into the taller man’s waistcoat pocket.

It was as if that’s what Thranduil had waited for, because in the next instant, his hand closed behind Bard’s nape and pulled him in for a smothering kiss. 

A knock startled them both and the Chief of Police pulled away, leaving Bard still reeling for a long moment until he remembered to straighten up and turn to the glazed door. Tauriel and Feren’s faces pressed to the glass, giggling and gesturing at them. 

“We haven’t seen anything.” Tauriel shouted as they started down the corridor once again. “But only because it’s Bard’s last day!”

“Well,” Thranduil cleared his throat, straightening his suit, eyes darting over Bard, twinkling with so much emotion, that the vet couldn’t help but grin.

“Well, it is my last day.” Bard shrugged before shamelessly pulling his temporary boss in for one more kiss.  
….  
THE END

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! If you have any comments for me, I'd love to hear them :D


End file.
